christopher price

New Patriots running back Stevan Ridley knows how to take advantage of an opportunity

Walt Whitman once said, “Either define the moment or the moment will define you.” It’s a sentiment that Stevan Ridley can understand.

The LSU running back hardly saw the field over the course of most of his first two college seasons, but when the Tigers lost Charles Scott to a clavicle injury during their 2009 game against Alabama, they turned to the sophomore who had yet to see any real game action in his brief college career to that point. For Ridley, it was his Whitman moment.

“We put Stevan in, and two plays later, he scores,” former LSU running backs coach Larry Porter said of Ridley, who didn’t even dress for the first seven games of the season as a sophomore. “Normally, over the course of the week, you don’t get many reps as a backup. But for him to come in totally focused and go in and not miss a beat, that was really a tribute to him and his hard work and him seizing control of an opportunity.”

It was the first real signal that running back was going to make the job his own. As a sophomore, he closed out the year with 180 yards, four yards a carry and three touchdowns in just under a half-season of action. In 2010 as a junior, he won the starting job and had a season for the ages, finishing with 1,147 yards on 249 carries with 15 touchdowns. (The 1,147 yards rank as seventh-highest season total in school history, while his 15 rushing touchdowns tie former LSU star and current New England running back Kevin Faulk as the fourth-best mark for a season in LSU history.) As a result, he was named First Team All-SEC by the coaches.

That afternoon against the Crimson Tide was the first real step toward professional football for Ridley, who has gone from college backup to NFL draftee in a relative blink. And now, the Patriots are hoping the 6-foot, 223-pounder can take advantage of the opportunity they gave him last month when they picked him in the third round (73rd overall) in the NFL draft.

“They have always kind of rotated that backs through there at LSU, [but] he’s been a very proactive guy both in the running game and in the passing game,” said Patriots coach Bill Belichick shortly after New England chose Ridley. “He’s a bigger, physical back, good running style, gets a lot of tough yards.”

“The Patriots are getting a young man who is tough,” Porter said. “For a big back, he has great vision. He’s instinctive, with good feet and good hands. He was a baseball player in high school, and you can see that he has good hands. He’s got a passion for the game that I’ve only seen in a few players.”

In this past draft, the Patriots took Ridley and Vereen (the latter out of Cal), two running backs which, on paper, appear to bring different qualities to the table. While Ridley appears to be more of a classic between-the-tackles type of runner, Vereen’s stats suggest he’s more of a third-down back in the mold of Faulk.

But Porter, who coached a variety of backs who went on the NFL while he was at LSU, said that Ridley can’t be pigeonholed, saying he has his own “unique” style.

“I’ve coached a bunch of good backs — [Jacob] Hester, [Joseph] Addai, Tatum Bell — and they all bring their own style to the field,” said Porter, who is currently the head football coach at Memphis. “Stevan is really a unique guy in terms of his style of play. I don’t think it would be fair to compare him to anybody. He’s unique.”

The Patriots have had a number of former LSU players through Gillette Stadium over the last 10 years — including Faulk, Jarvis Green and Randall “Blue” Gay — and Porter believes that’s one of the reasons Ridley is set up for success when it comes to his transition to the NFL.

“He understands the situation, and he’s been well-trained for that. That franchise has had the opportunity to have a number of Louisiana State players in their program, which is a good thing for Stevan,” Porter said.

“I think the Patriots are getting a guy the community will embrace. I see him as a guy who is very active in the community. That organization does a phenomenal job of developing players, and that’s the environment he needs to be in. I think it’s a great setup for him, because he’s only just started to develop.”

Greg and Chris talk with Mike Reiss from ESPN Boston in hour 2 of NFL Sunday to discuss a variety of offseason happenings with the Pats and throughout the league. Greg and Chris also get into the NFL Draft and where Mariota and Winston will go.

Mike Reiss calls the guys to talk about the offseason news for the Pats. He talks about the Pats/Jets tampoering fiasco, free agency, where he sees Ridley and Connolly ending up, if the Patriots would be interested in Reggie Wayne and more.

In the first hour of the show, Greg and Chris discuss the news coming out of the owners' meetings this week and rule changes. Belichick's blow-up over the league not wanting to spend on endzone cameras was well documented and the guys react. They also talk about the Jets ridiculous tampering charges, free agents still lingering out there, where Stevan Ridley will land and the RB position in New England. Dickerson and Price briefly discuss the adventures of Tom Brady before being joined by WEEI.com's Mike Petraglia to talk all things Pats in the offseason.

Flannery joins Mut to break down the Isaiah Thomas trade to Boston and what it means for the Celtics this season and in the future. Paul also chats with Mut about the other deals that happened at the NBA's trading deadline

Mut, Tomase, and Bradford kick things off talking about Shane Victorino taking offense to people reading into some comments he made about trading for Cole Hamels. They also discuss Blake Swihart and how soon he could be up if Christian Vazquez starts the season on the DL.

Joe Kelly joined the Hot Stove show where he talked about being ready for his next spring training start after a biceps ailment forced him out of his last outing, he talks about his NCAA brackets and how teammate Wade Miley has a perfect bracket still.

Peter Chiarelli joined the Sunday Skate crew to talk about the Bruins playoff push heading into the final handful of games of the regular season. Chiarelli talked about avoiding some of the overly negative feedback he gets while realizing that the team does have real issues. He discusses what went down at the trade deadline and if he was happy with the outcome, Lucic having a down year and underperforming, the salary cap and if he considers it as big of an issue as it's been made out to be and what the future holds for the team.

It's a big hour #2 for the Sunday Skate dudes - they talk about the B's defenseman and what the future looks like at that position, with both moves the team can make and younger guys in the AHL. They also get into the Bruins philosophy on bringing guys up and sending them back down and how players deal with that. Finally, the boys are joined by Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli to discuss EVERYTHING.

The Sunday Skate crew gets the show going discussing the Bruins big, impressive victory over the NY Rangers yesterday. What can you take from that game? According to LB - Lyndon Byers - who called the guys from the road, not a lot. LB drops a dime on what was going on with the Rangers yesterday. DJ and Joe discuss Claude's lines and groupings and the importance of Ryan Spooner. They also get into Lucic, his contributions this year and if he can turn things around.

With the Wells report seemingly wrapping up (we hope), Tim and Lou got to talking about possible fines and punishments the Patriots must face. It's possible that the Patriots will face a small fine, but should they take that laying down? The conversation brings out a little passion from BOTH sides.